職場(chǎng)英語(yǔ)：保持低調(diào)也能升職嗎

　　筆者知道你是怎么想的：這聽(tīng)起來(lái)一點(diǎn)都不靠譜。在一個(gè)可以把個(gè)人特長(zhǎng)表露無(wú)遺的機(jī)會(huì)下，誰(shuí)還會(huì)想要一聲不吭地保持低調(diào)呢?

　　因?yàn)檫@樣做可以幫助你應(yīng)對(duì)各種挑戰(zhàn)——實(shí)際上還能保持你良好的形象。如果你不安于現(xiàn)狀，惹毛客戶(hù)或同事，與別人針?shù)h相對(duì)，或遠(yuǎn)離辦公室政治，那么你就應(yīng)該裝聾作啞(好吧，有點(diǎn)迷惑)。看看下面的內(nèi)容是怎么說(shuō)的。

　　1.If you see an area for improvement

　　1. 如果你看到了發(fā)展的空間。

　　As a newbie, your first couple of weeks on the job are the perfect time to mention that something brand new — and inefficient — doesn't quite make sense to you. Your unfamiliarity is an in to discuss other ways you've seen similar tasks accomplished, as well as parts of the process that seem counterintuitive.

　　作為一名職場(chǎng)菜鳥(niǎo)，開(kāi)始工作的幾周是談?wù)撊率挛锘虻托Чぷ鞯淖罴褧r(shí)期，不過(guò)對(duì)你來(lái)說(shuō)其實(shí)是毫無(wú)用處的。你在這里的陌生感只能談?wù)撃闼?jiàn)識(shí)到的相似任務(wù)，以及這個(gè)過(guò)程看起來(lái)有點(diǎn)不符合常理。

　　While you can't play that card once you've been somewhere for months or years, you can always ask for more information. In other words, if your boss doesn't usually take too kindly to, "Let's change this," skip that approach. Instead try, "In our next meeting, could you walk me through the thinking behind [a certain process]? It would help me [sell our product/work collaboratively/train someone new] if I had a better understanding of the [context/details]."

　　當(dāng)你已經(jīng)在公司里呆上好一段時(shí)間了，不能再使用這個(gè)方法的時(shí)候，你可以多作詢(xún)問(wèn)。也就是說(shuō)，你的老板總不會(huì)友善回應(yīng)你的“讓我們改變現(xiàn)狀吧!”的說(shuō)法。直接忽略這一步，而是，“下一次會(huì)議的時(shí)候，請(qǐng)問(wèn)您能否給我解釋這個(gè)流程的原理。這能夠幫助我(出售產(chǎn)品/團(tuán)隊(duì)合作/培訓(xùn)新人)，如果我更好地理解這些(背景知識(shí)/細(xì)節(jié))的話(huà)。”

　　You've tied learning more to doing your job better, so it's likely your boss will oblige. Then, when you are discussing the particulars of how a certain process works, ask the occasional, "Have we considered [this innovation]?"

　　你為了更好地完成任務(wù)而主動(dòng)去學(xué)習(xí)更多，所以你的老板是很樂(lè)意為你解答的。接下來(lái)，當(dāng)你們?cè)谟懻摼唧w流程的操作步驟時(shí)，你可以不時(shí)地問(wèn)：“我們是否考慮過(guò)(這個(gè)新方法)呢?”

　　Another possible outcome: Once your boss walks you through the details, maybe you'll understand the why and no longer see the need to make improvements.

　　另外一個(gè)可能的結(jié)果：當(dāng)你的老板為你解釋了所有的細(xì)節(jié)，可能你就了解了其中的道理卻再也沒(méi)有想要獲得進(jìn)步的動(dòng)力了。

職場(chǎng)英語(yǔ)：保持低調(diào)也能升職嗎

　　2.If you're dealing with a difficult person

　　2. 與難相處的人相處

　　Feigning naiveté is also a great way to approach difficult personalities. Let's say you're told that a certain colleague or stakeholder is known for being abrasive. You could go into your first meeting with this person planning to be especially patronizing (or confrontational), or you could pretend that you had never heard he was difficult. When a co-worker says, "Oh, well you know George is the worst," you respond, "Really? I hadn't heard that." Then you enter the meeting truly acting like you've never heard that before.

　　假裝天真也是一個(gè)處理復(fù)雜人際關(guān)系的很好的方法。假如有人告訴你某位同事或客戶(hù)很難相處，你可以在初次見(jiàn)面的時(shí)候就想象對(duì)方自視過(guò)高(或?qū)固翎?，或者你還可以假裝你從不知道對(duì)方難相處這件事。當(dāng)一位同事說(shuō)。“噢，你知道嗎，George最難搞了。”你的回答是，“是嗎?我還沒(méi)聽(tīng)說(shuō)過(guò)呢。”然后你就在會(huì)面的時(shí)候表現(xiàn)得你真的從未聽(tīng)過(guò)這個(gè)說(shuō)法一樣。

　　Now, who do think is more likely to build inroads with George?

　　那么，現(xiàn)在誰(shuí)才是真正跟George相處不好的人呢?

　　This approach is good for other common workplace annoyances. With the co-worker who takes credit for your work, you can try, "I had no idea we were on the exact same page about X. Great minds think alike!" With the manager who always assigns you projects on Friday at 4 PM, you can try, "I looked back through my project list and couldn't find this anywhere. Did I miss something during our check-in?"

　　這個(gè)方法對(duì)普遍的職場(chǎng)困擾很有效。如果你的同事稱(chēng)贊你的工作，你可以這么說(shuō)：“我還真的不知道我們對(duì)這件事的看法是一樣的!英雄所見(jiàn)略同啊!”如果你的上司常常在周五安排你工作到很晚，你可以這么說(shuō)，“我再次通篇瀏覽了我的工作任務(wù)表，但我實(shí)在找不到這件事情，不知道是不是在我們討論的時(shí)候我遺漏了呢?”

　　These responses allow you to address the situation without being confrontational. Ironically, the subtext of these lines is, "I know exactly what's going on here," and that can make the difference in how these people treat you in the future.

　　這些回應(yīng)能夠幫助你處理情況，也免于與對(duì)方的針?shù)h相對(duì)。有趣的是，這些話(huà)的潛臺(tái)詞是：“我很清楚發(fā)生什么事情。”這能夠讓別人對(duì)待你的方式上有很大的差別。

　　3.If you disagree

　　3. 如果你不贊同。

　　Picture this: A teammate — or worse, your boss — suggests the worst idea you've ever heard. "That's a terrible idea" isn't going to win you any congeniality awards, and it will probably make the other person defensive.

　　想象一下：一名團(tuán)隊(duì)伙伴——或更甚，你的老板，說(shuō)出了一個(gè)你認(rèn)為是最糟糕的想法。“這個(gè)想法很糟糕”這句話(huà)不會(huì)讓你們的合作關(guān)系更進(jìn)一步，反而讓別人對(duì)你產(chǎn)生敵意。

　　If there are red flags jumping out at you, odds are they may be in your colleague's blind spot (or, the overwhelming benefits aren't yet clear to you). So, before you launch into a counter-attack, ask for clarification.

　　如果你發(fā)現(xiàn)了有危險(xiǎn)的信號(hào)，有可能是你的同事存在認(rèn)知盲點(diǎn)(或者你還沒(méi)意識(shí)到大多數(shù)的好處)。所以，在你準(zhǔn)備反駁的時(shí)候，先請(qǐng)求對(duì)方把觀點(diǎn)說(shuō)明白。

　　Try: "I'm not quite sure I understand what you're saying. Could you explain it differently?" Asking someone to explain her point in a new way should bring additional information to light. Of course, she'll be more likely to walk through her thinking if you choose the non-confrontational, "I'm not sure I get it..." over the arrogant: "I'm not sure I understand how this would work, given these five things I've already considered as well as their possible repercussions."

　　嘗試這樣：“我不太理解你所說(shuō)的觀點(diǎn)，能否換個(gè)說(shuō)法解釋一下?”請(qǐng)求對(duì)方用新的角度解釋她的觀點(diǎn)這樣能夠給予你更多新信息。當(dāng)然，對(duì)方更樂(lè)意因?yàn)槟愕姆菍?duì)抗性的詢(xún)問(wèn)方式給你解釋?zhuān)热?ldquo;我不太明白......”而不是“我看不出來(lái)這個(gè)方法怎么能行，我早已考慮了這些因素以及它們的反作用。”

　　4.If you're trying to avoid office politics

　　4. 如果你想逃離辦公室政治。

　　Repeat after me: "I must've missed that." Now, imagine a co-worker stops by your cubicle to ask your opinion on nasty words exchanged in a meeting, someone being passed over for a project, or some other salacious news.

　　請(qǐng)跟我說(shuō)：“我想我肯定錯(cuò)過(guò)了。”現(xiàn)在，想象一下一位同事在你的小隔間旁邊，用粗言穢語(yǔ)詢(xún)問(wèn)你對(duì)會(huì)議，別人在任務(wù)上的失誤，或者其他不雅的新聞的觀點(diǎn)。

　　Maybe you're the sort of person who can craft a diplomatic response on the spot (in which case, rock on!). But for the rest of us, the best bet is often not to get involved. And if you go with "no comment" or "I'd rather not that discuss that," you may be seen as stiff or judgmental. With, "I must have missed that," you manage to remove yourself without taking sides.

　　也許你是懂得描繪外交說(shuō)法的人。但是很多人，通常都認(rèn)為事不關(guān)己才是王道。如果你說(shuō)“沒(méi)有想法”或“我不想討論這件事”，你就會(huì)看起來(lái)呆板又主觀。如果你說(shuō)，“我猜我肯定錯(cuò)過(guò)這件事了”，這樣你就可以把自己的位置拉到中庸的地方。

　　Some people think the office is the place to be all power, all brilliance, all the time. And while you should strive to make a powerful and brilliant impression, an occasional question or clarification won't discount your abilities — but it may help you squeeze through a tricky situation with your reputation intact.

　　有些人認(rèn)為辦公室應(yīng)該總是充滿(mǎn)權(quán)力，形象光輝的地方。而當(dāng)你努力成為一名有權(quán)力，形象光輝的人的時(shí)候，偶爾的一個(gè)問(wèn)題或聲明不會(huì)給你的能力打折扣，甚至?xí)椭沆`活應(yīng)對(duì)微妙的情況還能保持完整的名譽(yù)形象。